The Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) announced the start-up of production at its new $1.2 billion petrochemical complex in Ruwais. The 260-hectare complex is the UAE’s first significant downstream petrochemical investment and the only Borstar bimodal polyethylene facility in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.

Borouge manufactures and sells Polyethylene for use primarily in the flexible and rigid packaging and construction industries. Initial production is expected to be in the low range of 3,000-5,000 tons of ethylene and 15,000 tons of polyethylene, and the plan is gradually to increase production. “We have to build up the market. We expect to reach full capacity by 2003," CEO Joost Schrevens told AFP.

The plant will specialize in producing high, medium, and linear low-density polyethylene using Borealis' proprietary Borstar. The complex consists of an annual 600,000-ton Ethane-based ethylene cracker and two bimodal polyethylene plants, with an annual production of 450,000 tons, making it one of the largest production facilities in the region, according to a company press release. The cracker was designed to accommodate a 300,000-ton expansion in the future.

India and China are expected to represent about a quarter of the company's polyethylene sales. South East Asia may account for a further 15 percent. The other main markets will be in Egypt, Syria and the rest of the Middle East. The distribution of the finished products will be handled through local ports with the Abu Dhabi National Transport Company (ADNATCO).

Borouge was established in 1998 as a joint venture, owned 60 percent by the government-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and 40 percent owned by Borealis, a well-known multinational in the market, based in Copenhagen. — (menareport.com)